Mercury Racing 200R or 225R??

[Scream And Fly]

I've had this idea in my head for a few years so I thought I may as well mock it up in ole' reliable Photoshop.

I think an R-series version of the Mercury 3.4L four-stroke outboard would be a really compelling option for boats like Allisons, STV. bass boats, other similar boats. It would be relatively small and fairly lightweight. I am actually finishing un article on my thoughts with this idea.

Adding a supecharger to that be really interesting, but I think with the addition of a supercharger and its associated components, the engine's weight would end up being very close to the 250R/300R. But still, a supercharged 3.4L V6 would be so awesome.

[mragu]

One of the mercury riggers/mechanics here on Long Island was telling me that these motors will be made by mercury soon. I hope he’s right, I would want two of them

[4Speed]

Dropping the horsepower slightly in terms of the OEM cowl decals would probably make certain high speed hulls easier to insure. I am pretty sure a STV with a 200R vs. a 250R may be a little easier to insure, worst case you loose a MPH or 2.
A few different gear ratios in the Sportmaster may be of value also.

[mach351]

Now make it 15” and we are talkin…..

[Tcatrett]

I'm hoping for a 15" 250R V6.... Be sweet on our Allisons..

[David]

The 200 v6 is 475 lb dry. I bet it’s close to 500 with oil. No regrets here about buying a 200XX ROS for my Allison.

if they took 50 lb out of the V6, added solid mounts and a sportmaster, I bet they could sell a dozen

[JPEROG]

The market studies show them selling mulitple dozens.... There is more cool stuff to come, I hope the people who say "I wish they" buy them when they are reality. The new product in a 15", solid mounts, and strong sportmaster will make small boats dependable and much more usable for running distance and carrying passengers. River runs are a blast but it seems half the people only go to the closest sandbar to avoid fuel needs or anticipated parts failure. New power options allow a longer leash for sure.



Joe

[Scream And Fly]

Now make it 15” and we are talkin…..

I can do that, and make it even better with old-school offshore exhaust.

[Brad Zastrow]

The R motors are a little louder than the consumer version. But I will be the first to admit the 2.5 offshore had the best sound. I was not too fond of the lack of reliability with the 2.5. To me, the best-sounding outboard of all time was the Mercury racing in line six with megaphones.
Greg, I think the V6 four-stroke in a R version with a Sportmaster makes a lot of sense.

[David]

One of the concerns I have is that no one is building 18-20 foot go fast boats anymore. Usually the new boat market drives sales, not repower?

[JPEROG]

One of the concerns I have is that no one is building 18-20 foot go fast boats anymore. Usually the new boat market drives sales, not repower?

Have you heard of any of the following people?;

Jack Barsh
Mark Weigl
Errol Lanier
Darris Allison
Chub Bryant
Mike Mullins

I don't think I need to keep going....There are lots of 18' to 20' go fast boats being built today that will run in excess of 100 mph with new power options. Listed are a few of the builders in addition to the numerous bass/performance builders.

Joe

[David]

Yup, I've heard of those guys, and I added one boat

Mark Weigl is building three 20 foot boats this winter
Darris Allison is building zero twenty foot boats now. Maybe he would start again if there were motors
John and Chris Spaeth are building one 20 foot boat this winter

How many '200 class' boats are Mr Barsh, Lanier, Bryant, and Mullins building? How many motors a year would Mercury have to sell to make it worth while? If there is a business case for a performance 200, I think it would have to come from the bass boat world. Which has gone big, the last time I looked. Of course I remember my 200XS ROS costing more than a 300XS and having no warranty. Would Mercury want to repeat that process?

An 18-20 foot V bottom with a 200 is exactly the sweet spot for me, and I hope you guys are right and Merc or somebody builds a motor that Mr Allison would approve of on my SS2000.

[JPEROG]

Insurance and financing are to blame for "the good old days" being gone. If you can't insure it, you can't finance it. If you can't finance it then you will sell limited quantities. Come up with a solution for our litigious society that we have created and it would be a major start to turning back the clock and making performance boating accessible again.

As shown above, if guys want a 18' to 20' foot go fast boat, they are available new or used. The reason bass/performance boats are doing so well is insurability and financeability. There were 1600 registered participant boats and over 3000 registered anglers in the recent LOTO bass tournament (that is the market). The majority of those boats would benefit from the future product that we are speaking of and guys spending 100K on their latest fast/bass combination is the new norm.

Joe

[CUDA]

So what is the Combination ?

Allison ?

Sorry I don't fish, but I enjoy eating Fish, I think that might be a retirement thing, so take up fishing on the St Johns River

I was golfing at 10 so now boring fishing, at least we have phones to play with, red lights don't bother me as much anymore,

phone time

[TooStroked]

I can do that, and make it even better with old-school offshore exhaust.

I too loved the sound of a 2.5 with an old school open exhaust. In fact, that's what I miss most about my 2.5 Unfortunately, I think you'd be disappointed with the sound of a 4 stroke with catalytic converters followed by an open exhaust. The converters tend to muffle the exhaust so much as to render cutout(s) pretty much useless. Sad.